12 Hacks to Be 99.9% More Productive That Cost Nothing

In the modern era, staying focused and productive seems quite impossible with all the distractions around. However, what if I told you that there are some available techniques that will enable you accomplish more in a day than most people achieve in an entire week?

These productivity hacks do not require resources and are applied by some of the most successful individuals. I have applied them to fight off ADHD and build several enterprises, making me a millionaire before the age of twenty-seven. Here are 12 effective strategies which will ensure you remain productive 99% of the time:

1. Improve Your Cycle Time

A couple of years ago, I observed that one copywriter that I had hired was ten times more efficient in completing tasks than the rest of the copywriters.

It was all a matter of time management. This person used all 10 fingers while typing without the mouse and made use of keyboard shortcuts often. This was a lesson learnt the hard way, if you can do it fast you can do more of it.

Learn how to type fast, understand hot keys and even use tools such as Zapier to automate recurrent tasks. Fewer cycles mean higher productivity demands; whether it is increasing the speed of the mouse or turning the audio playback speed up higher.

2. Make a Stop-Doing List
Most of us think about things we have to do, but we rarely think about things we have to stop doing. A stop-doing list can prove to be just as helpful, if not more helpful.

I do not waste time on things like gambling or other unnecessary vices, and I do not spend hours trying to be good at something I do not like. It’s better to learn and do what you are good at and the best at that .

Seek out people who enjoy the things you do not like — this way you will have more time and energy to focus on what is important.

3. Create Urgency
They say that the best way for a procrastinator to work is when there is plenty of time pressure — this is false. There is a way of inducing time pressure by fixing earlier deadlines than are normally set and you will be amazed at how productively you will work.

4. Rely on People
Accountability is a motivational tool that does create some shifts. When I was working on my book, there were numerous unsuccessful attempts before I understood that I could not do this by myself.

Therefore, I hired a team which included a book ‘CEO,’ an editor and a co-writer among others. Knowing there are people to meet can be an incentive to work extra and beat the deadlines.

Even in an instance where one doesn’t have enough funds to pay up, friends or workmates can also be engaged in the same activities during working groups in sessions with a mandate of accountability.

5. Schedule Time to Recharge
Burnout is real. I used to work up to 100 hours a week, and believed that working incessantly was the trick to making it in life. As it turns out, time off is as necessary as time spent working.

Book in time for rest as you would schedule for work. Most of the time, creativity as well as big ideas strikes when a person is not in the business of pushing themselves but instead is relaxed.

Whether it is a holiday or a short excursion, or even just visiting friends, recharging will enable you to make sound decisions with all the energy and clarity.

6. Wake Up Early
This could be debated, but it is true that waking up early has been beneficial to me. There is a certain high that comes when one is up before the day begins.

Those who get up early tend to accomplish more whether it is for some quiet time, some work that cannot be interrupted, or even for some practice of religion.

No one says you have to wake up at 5 AM to be a productive member of society, but there are benefits to Northing as much as the others.